Girls under 16 may be able to get the Pill over the counter at local chemists under a new government plan. Currently pharmacists can only hand it out with a doctor's signature.

It's hoped that making it more easily available will cut teen pregnancies and abortions, but critics fear it could spark a rise in sexually transmitted diseases.

So should women and girls be able to get the Pill without seeing a doctor first?

YES

Says mum-of-three LINDA PORTER, 49, from Harpenden, Herts

I know from personal experience that more women need to have access to the Pill if we want to tackle the high level of teenage pregnancies and abortions in Britain.

I was devastated when my daughter Zara had to have an abortion at 19, because I knew exactly what she was going through... I'd had one at the same age.

I thought I had been careful with my boyfriend, but I obviously hadn't and it was a terrible experience I would not wish on anyone - especially my own daughter.

It was terribly embarrassing going to the doctor to get the contraceptive pill and I know so many young women who have been put off and take risks instead.

Zara is a classic case. I have always made it clear that she can talk to me about anything, but she felt understandably awkward about coming to me - or a doctor - and saying she wanted to go on the Pill because she'd become sexually active.

Instead, she spoke to no one and got pregnant while she was at university. Having a baby was not an option because it would have meant giving up on her dreams of being a ballet dancer.

There are many other teenagers - lots of them younger than Zara - who have ended up being mums at a very young age and we've got to do something to stop it.

Making the Pill available at chemists will make it much easier and less embarrassing for women like my daughter to protect themselves.

Like doctors, pharmacists will be able to give out the Pill to girls under 16 without their parents' consent if they believe they are at risk of pregnancy.

While this is controversial, we have to face up to the fact that young teenage girls are having sex and they are not telling us.

I lived in Spain for six years and they are far more sensible about this issue, despite being a Catholic country.

You can get everything over the counter, and the availability of the Pill is not being abused. We could learn a lot from their system - they have far fewer teen pregnancies than we do.

In fact, the UK has the highest teenage birth rate in Western Europe, and unless we take sensible steps like this to cut down that figure it will only get worse.

I think this is an important step in the right direction by the government but they need to look at other ways to improve women's access to contraception.

And for this to work it's vital that pharmacists are trained properly so they can prescribe the Pill safely and make sure it's not going to have any adverse health effects.

NO

Says the Mirror's medical expert DR MIRIAM STOPPARD

As someone who pioneered the Pill being widely available and who has fought all my life to promote reproductive rights of women, I find myself surprisingly at odds with news that the Pill may be freely available to girls under 16.

My reticence is not to do with the fact that parental consent won't be necessary. For years I've been in favour of doctors prescribing the Pill for sexually active teenagers without parents knowing if they feel there's a risk of an unwanted pregnancy.

Nor is it to do with pharmacists having freedom to dispense the Pill rather than doctors. Even though powerful voices are cheering this initiative, my concerns are about the real reason for this new freedom.

One factor quoted in support of the move is the problem of teenage pregnancies, which shows little sign of going away.

A free Pill would stem the ever-increasing news of teen pregnancies, wouldn't it? Well I'm not sure it would.

Teenage pregnancies have remained virtually the same despite increased availability of the morning-after pill.

Our current situation has been described as a "catastrophic tidal wave of teenage and unwanted pregnancies".

We have the worst figures in Europe: twice as high as Germany, three times as high as France and six times as high as the Netherlands. But I can't help seeing this latest move as a cosmetic solution to a bigger problem - a problem the government has refused to take seriously and put its muscle behind.

That is a well-planned, well executed programme of sex education to raise the level of our teenagers' sense of responsibility about sex for themselves and others.

And, as much research has shown, good sex education delays a person's sexual debut. All those countries already quoted have better sex education programmes than we do and don't need to resort to such measures as the Pill on demand.

The decision to offer a free Pill follows closures of family planning clinics because of government budget restrictions.

Teenagers have nowhere to go now to seek advice.

There's another concern that won't go away - the Pill is a powerful medicine. It contains hormones that alter a woman's body in significant ways as well as preventing pregnancy.

The women who take it, particularly teenage girls, should be medically supervised to ensure their wellbeing is carefully monitored.

I can't see a busy pharmacist having time to do the necessary checks. Checks are a back-up service instigated automatically with a prescription by a doctor.

Is the free Pill a way of taking pressure off over-worked doctors? It's shameful if the answer is yes.

DRUG OF CHOICE

The Pill was developed by Dr Carl Djerassi in Mexico over 50 years ago.

It was introduced in Britain in 1961 for married women. Single women had to wait until 1967.

Numbers of women taking the Pill dipped in the 1980s after scares over blood clots and strokes.

It is now used by one in four women across the UK aged 16 to 49.

I was so upset when my daughter had an abortion at the same age I had one

I'm worried about the real reason for this - it does not solve our sex problems